Destructoid |
- Konami will not be attending E3 2021, but has projects in 'deep development'
- Here's when you can play the Resident Evil Village demo
- Whatcha been playing this week, Destructoid?
- Destructoid community stream night is live on Twitch
- Housemarque says it hears the calls for better saving in Returnal
- A few quick tips for New Pokemon Snap's launch weekend
- Barrel riding is yet another thing I missed in Zelda: Breath of the Wild
- Titanfall 2 is having a free weekend on Steam
- Halo Infinite will have cross-play and cross-progression with PC and consoles, PC features detailed
- Mind your manners and hold the door in Enix's Door Door
- Pokemon...snap? Pairing a Switch Joy-Con to take photos on your phone looks like fun
- As Monolith continues its work on Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2, it is rapidly growing
- Someone's winning $25K from TikTok Gamers Got Talent, and it could be you
- Fall Guys on Switch and Xbox has been delayed, but crossplay is on the way
- In this extremely slow period of WoW, you can pick up WoW: Shadowlands for 20% off
- It took a year, but Predator: Hunting Grounds is now on Steam
- Hardcore Apex Legends players are holding casual fans hostage for boosts in an elaborate kidnapping scheme
- Judgment Twitter teases possible sequel footage ahead of 'Judgment Day' reveal
- Remember Final Fantasy VII The First Soldier? It has an official Discord now to foster meetups
- Gina Gershon joins Borderlands movie as showgirl Mad Moxxi
- Bungie ignores the near-universal backlash to Destiny 2's predatory transmog system, but we're getting weapon balancing
| Konami will not be attending E3 2021, but has projects in 'deep development' Posted: 01 May 2021 02:30 AM PDT Konami has announced that it will not be attending E3 2021 in any capacity. The long-time developer/publisher has noted that it is working on "key projects" and that players should expect updates pertaining to these titles over the coming months. The full statement, posted yesterday to Twitter, reads as follows: "Due to timing, we will not be ready to present at E3 this year. We want to reassure our fans that we are in deep development on a number of key projects, so please stay tuned for some updates in the coming months. While we are not participating this year, we have great respect for the ESA and know that 2021 will be a great success. We will continue to support the ESA and wish the best to all participants at this year’s show." The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) has acknowledged Konami's absence: Currently, Konami's only publicly known, in-development title is soccer sequel PES 2022. E3 2021 is scheduled to take place (in an online capacity) between June 12-15.  |
| Here's when you can play the Resident Evil Village demo Posted: 01 May 2021 01:00 AM PDT For silly reasons, you can only play the Resident Evil Village demo on certain days, and for a limited time. If you try to play outside of the strict windows, it won't work. You'll just see a countdown. After a 30-minute village demo on April 17 and a 30-minute castle tour on April 24, Capcom is opening up the combined demo experience for everyone. You don't need a PS4 or PS5 this time. All of Village's platforms (PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Steam, and Stadia) are getting a "time-limited demo" on May 1 with up to 60 minutes of playtime, and it includes the village and castle. As Capcom has explained, you can spend your time exhaustively exploring one area or try both. Here are the exact dates and times. This convoluted demo rollout is almost over!  |
| Whatcha been playing this week, Destructoid? Posted: 30 Apr 2021 10:00 PM PDT I'm afraid I don't have much of an intro for you this week, folks. I hope you've all had a fine week and that your incoming weekend is a great one. Be good to yourselves and others, and whether you're super-busy or free as a bird, be sure to make some time for yourself doing something you enjoy. If you can rope in others to share the joy with you (socially distanced of course) then get them involved. Spread the love and all that jazz.  |
| Destructoid community stream night is live on Twitch Posted: 30 Apr 2021 12:45 PM PDT Hey again! Tonight I'm continuing my playthrough of Resident Evil 2 on Destructoid's Twitch channel starting at 9:00 p.m. Eastern. Friday nights just wouldn't feel the same without zombies anymore. Last week, we finished up the blind playthrough of RE2, which I can now confidently say was my "first" RE game (I played Resident Evil 7 first, but RE7 is SO different from the usual!), and now it's time to see what Claire was up to the entire time. Getting through the police station that I JUST beat with Leon is a little grindy because my sense of direction with first-person games isn't developed, so I get very lost, but that just gives us all the more time to chat between action scenes. I wish the things you unlocked as Leon would stay unlocked for Claire, but, c'est la brains. Looking forward to what's gonna happen once I'm out and learning how the heck Claire met a kid to tote along during the zombie apocalypse. Hope to see you there, especially if you know what's what about this game so I can answer all my questions. Miss the last stream? Catch the on-demand archive right here.
A bit about me: As I was growing up, my older brother shaped my interests in games and fantasy culture. We were obsessed with dragons, fantasy books, world and creature building, you name it. Most of our time was spent hanging out and chattily imagining things. We dipped into Pokémon when I was six with trading cards, figurines, and books, but even our very first video games on our Dad's computer were split right down to the controls; he would do movements and I'd do action buttons. Over time we tried dozens of games, however RuneScape, D&D, and Pokémon always stuck with me the most. It's been almost two years since I first started streaming. I tend to stream all sorts of games now, but my favorite genres came to be RPGs, puzzles, adventure, and strategy — bonus if it's fantasy-themed or an MMO that I can play with my friends and an instant favorite if the atmosphere is just right! Alongside trying new games together, my heart is in our bubbly banter while we all talk it up in chat. I'm so happy to have met people who have the same passion as I do for all these games and cool hobbies. But how did I get here? A while back, Destructoid hosted its "So You Think You Can Stream?" contest. It was my first time entering any type of serious contest, but I still wanted to shoot my shot and really get out there. Although I didn't win, I was elated to hear that my audition stood out and there was an opportunity for me to come on board to stream alongside Dreezy on the Dtoid channel. Come catch me live at Destructoid's Twitch channel every Friday at 9:00 p.m. Eastern! Let's chat it up about anything and everything while playing cool games! I hope to meet you there. :)  |
| Housemarque says it hears the calls for better saving in Returnal Posted: 30 Apr 2021 12:00 PM PDT There's only one thing putting me off playing Returnal right now — okay, two. Three, tops. This will potentially be the second time I've spent $70 on a PS5 game (the first being Demon's Souls), and honestly, I'm still adjusting to the sticker shock. As someone who already was willing to wait to avoid paying $60 at launch, I now feel even pickier about what's worth getting and when. I also don't necessarily have a lot of time to sink into Returnal right now, and from everything I know and love about Housemarque games, it takes a while to get into the groove. That was true of shorter arcade romps like Resogun and Nex Machina, and it's definitely true of Returnal given its bigger-budget scope and potentially very drawn-out roguelike runs. I'm expecting to put in dozens of hours, all told. But really, those are mental barriers I can work through — the thing about saving, though, that's still weighing on me. As Chris explained in his review (and as other players have since complained about on Reddit), Returnal doesn't have a good option for temporary mid-run saves. Basically, you can't — not really. If you're in a run and you need to take a break, you've got to put your PS5 in rest mode. For many people, the lack of a save-and-quit option won't be too hard to work around most of the time. But as someone who's woken up to a pissed-off PlayStation 5 that "wasn't properly shut down" due to middle-of-the-night power fluctuations, or the cat stepping on the power strip, or other random mishaps, it's a bit concerning. I don't exactly have peace of mind that my PS5 will slumber peacefully while my Returnal run is left hanging because I had something pry me away from the game. In response to complaints about the lack of an in-game "suspend and resume" solution in Returnal (which other roguelikes have embraced), Housemarque tweeted: "We hear the community and we love you all. Nothing to announce now, but keep playing and enjoying the challenge as you can!" I'd like the developers to stay true to their tough roguelike vision for Returnal. At the same time, player-centric quality-of-life options are super super appreciated in this genre, and there's room to budge. If this game is going to draw the large crowd it probably needs to, this stuff is worth considering.  |
| A few quick tips for New Pokemon Snap's launch weekend Posted: 30 Apr 2021 11:00 AM PDT A new Pokémon Snap game is out today, a sentence I am still honestly surprised I'm typing in the year 2021. The first was a one-off spin-off on the Nintendo 64, a quirky game that let you photograph Pokémon instead of capturing and battling them. The first Snap still became something of a nostalgic classic and now, two decades later, New Pokémon Snap has hit the Nintendo Switch. It is Pokémon Snap as you remember it, albeit with a few notable changes. We're still playing it ourselves, but for those picking it up this weekend, there are a few crucial tips you'll want to know:
New Pokémon Snap is out now on Nintendo Switch. Keep an eye out in the future for our review!  |
| Barrel riding is yet another thing I missed in Zelda: Breath of the Wild Posted: 30 Apr 2021 10:30 AM PDT This is legit folks, I missed it. Just like I missed that you could see all four divine beasts from the top of Link's house in Zelda: Breath of the Wild. XprtGamer44 of Reddit (apt name) discovered something else a lot of folks had completely missed too: barrel riding. Ah a fellow barrel rider! Succinctly put, after nearly 1000 hours with the game, they finally discovered this oddity and decided to share it. And like all 1000 other clips, it makes me want to immediately boot up the game and go do it myself. In case you're curious, you can find one in the Great Plateau near "the Old Man's Hut!" Lanayru Wetlands or Eventide Island are also options. And the barrels do float! Oh, and in what has become a tradition for a lot of Breath of the Wild clip sharers, XprtGamer44 notes that the outfit in the video is "the Hylian Hood, Climbing Gear, chest, and Royal Guard Boots, dyed white." 975+ hours into the game and I just realized, this is a thing... [Reddit]  |
| Titanfall 2 is having a free weekend on Steam Posted: 30 Apr 2021 10:00 AM PDT Seriously, if you haven't checked out Titanfall 2 yet, here's your opportunity to do so. Respawn Entertainment is making its 2016 sci-fi FPS temporarily free-to-play from now until May 3 at 10 a.m. PT on Steam.
Titanfall 2 has been having a bit of a moment, thanks to Apex Legends' new season dredging up a lot of Titanfall 2 lore with its new Legend, Valkyrie. And while the new Arenas mode for Apex Legends doesn't hit until next week, a free weekend to play Titanfall 2 seems like a nice way to gear up for it. Also, if you haven't played Titanfall 2 yet, go do it! You can probably knock the campaign out in an afternoon, and then there's plenty of multiplayer action to hop into. I know I'll probably set aside some time to squad up again this weekend. See y'all during Happy Hour!  |
| Halo Infinite will have cross-play and cross-progression with PC and consoles, PC features detailed Posted: 30 Apr 2021 09:30 AM PDT I'm actually enjoying the relaxed and fireside manner in which Microsoft is giving us Halo Infinite updates. They took the memes to heart when it was shown off that fateful afternoon, and the Halo Waypoint blog has been a font of information for the game. That goes double for the update this week, as 343 is really going hard on the PC version of the game. 343 producer Jeff Guy calls this a "native first-class PC experience," with options for 21:9 ultrawide views, as well as 32:9 and a 120 FOV slider (by default it's set at 78). Guy also muses: "There’s also a TON of preventative problem solving. Things like making sure our game plays nice with specific families of hardware or fighting hard to ensure we don’t add intrusive DRM to our game. The problem with preventative problem solving though is you never see the crisis averted."  |
| Mind your manners and hold the door in Enix's Door Door Posted: 30 Apr 2021 09:00 AM PDT The official release date of the Nintendo Entertainment System was October 1985, but in truth, that was a test launch. Most people in North America didn’t have a chance to buy the console until Autumn of ‘86. At that point, the Famicom had been on the market for three years in Japan. Three years is a lot of time to build up a catalog of games, and the Famicom certainly did that. Most of the important titles would find their way to North American shores, but many during these lost years of the 8-bit platform fell by the wayside, regardless of their relevance. Take Door Door, for example. It’s a game that’s ingrained in the Japanese console player’s mindset, but it’s practically unknown here. It was the title that helped launch Enix into a position as a major player that would be solidified by the release of Dragon Quest. If that doesn’t tell you how significant this title is, let’s take a closer look.  |
| Pokemon...snap? Pairing a Switch Joy-Con to take photos on your phone looks like fun Posted: 30 Apr 2021 08:45 AM PDT Look at that timing! New Pokemon Snap is out today on Switch and someone went ahead and posted about remote Joy-Con picture taking. Life just kind of works out like that sometimes. Redditor Byotan showed us this neat little trick, where you can pair your Joy-Con to your phone to take pictures remotely, with the controller serving as a shutter button. It'll work for pretty much any Bluetooth device, including some headphones, Bluetooth remote shutter devices, and Bluetooth controllers: but the Switch Joy-Con just feels right. Remote picture taking has myriad uses, including framing up a perfect shot without moving the camera, or capturing a subject that you may not be able to get close to. Having picked up bird watching recently, I can relate to the natter necessity! Note that it works on Android devices, as standard iOS ones don't play nice with Switch controllers. Also, and this is very important: the Pikachu toy is from the 2012 Latin America McDonalds Pokemon set. TIL you can pair a joycon with your phone and use it as a shutter button to take photos remotely [Reddit]  |
| As Monolith continues its work on Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2, it is rapidly growing Posted: 30 Apr 2021 08:30 AM PDT Very recently we discovered that Monolith Soft has been expanding year after year, but now we have some idea of just how big that expansion is straight from the company itself. As we know, the studio is working on whatever projects they have under their belt, as well as ancillary support on first-party Nintendo titles, including Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2. So a ramp-up is definitely warranted!  |
| Someone's winning $25K from TikTok Gamers Got Talent, and it could be you Posted: 30 Apr 2021 08:15 AM PDT TikTok, Enthusiast Gaming, and e.l.f. Cosmetics are hosting a big talent hunt with a head-turning grand prize up for grabs, and — wait. Hold up. For once, the competition is laser-focused on gamers. TikTok Gamers Got Talent is a seven-week live series (complete with celebrity judges) that kicks off Sunday, May 9 at 7:00 p.m. Eastern — but first, auditions. For a crack at the $25,000 prize, you'll have until May 2 at 11:59 p.m. ET to send in a TikTok video showcasing your talent. Open-ended, we know.
What exactly are the judges looking for? TikTok Gamers Got Talent submissions will be scored based on "entertainment value," "quality of presentation," and "level of skill demonstrated." A little more fine print: the competition is open to the US and Canada, it's a clean talent show (no swearing!), and your entry needs to be all about you — so no pairs or groups, and keep the kids out. Once this audition phase wraps up on May 2, the top contestants "will share their talents live in front of a rotating panel of celebrity judges" in weekly episodes culminating in a grand finale on June 20. If you haven't been on TikTok lately (or... ever), you might be shocked by how pervasive gaming culture has become on the platform — iconic video game music and sound effects, in particular, have taken on a whole new life. To put a ridiculous number on it, "#Gaming has over 105B views on TikTok globally." The Destructoid community is full of creative folks, and we'll be rooting for you. Make us proud. [Full disclosure: Enthusiast Gaming is the parent company of Destructoid.]  |
| Fall Guys on Switch and Xbox has been delayed, but crossplay is on the way Posted: 30 Apr 2021 08:00 AM PDT The platform-royale Fall Guys was set to make both its Nintendo Switch and Xbox console debut this summer. That goal's been delayed, but the move has opened Mediatonic up to work on another much-requested feature: crossplay. In a blog today, Mediatonic confirmed Fall Guys won't make its previously announced summer 2021 window for Xbox and Switch, as it's "unfortunately just too soon" to include all the features it wanted to. The delay does open up some new possibilities, though; the delay means that crossplay can be added, so when Fall Guys comes to new platforms they'll be able to play with everyone else. Epic Games recently picked up the Tonic Games Group, which includes Mediatonic. In a statement at the time, the Fall Guys developer said joining Epic would "accelerate our plans to improve the game and bring Fall Guys to as many players as possible, while continuing to support the community." Alongside the Switch and Xbox versions, Mediatonic is also working on the upcoming Season 4.5 update, which will add two new rounds alongside some new options for your Fall Guys wardrobe. No date has been set for that yet. I really got deep into the Fall Guys trend for at least a few weeks last year, and hearing that crossplay is in the cards is great. The more guys you can have falling across all platforms, the better it is for the game.  |
| In this extremely slow period of WoW, you can pick up WoW: Shadowlands for 20% off Posted: 30 Apr 2021 07:30 AM PDT World of Warcraft updates have been exceedingly slow, and although it's obvious why, a lot of other MMOs are picking up the slack. Shadowlands has slowed to a crawl in recent months, as we wait for the next big content patch to drop. The hope is that it actually delivers a huge new area and tons of stuff to do, but a lot of folks are speculating that it's going to be a small to mid-sized update. So what is Blizzard to do in the meantime? Break the emergency sale glass.  |
| It took a year, but Predator: Hunting Grounds is now on Steam Posted: 30 Apr 2021 07:00 AM PDT Illfonic's asymmetrical survival shooter Predator: Hunting Grounds is now available on PC via the Steam platform, having passed its one-year exclusivity deal with Epic Games Store. The new release is published by Sony under its new label PlayStation Mobile. Originally released in 2020, Predator: Hunting Grounds sees a team of players camo-up as a squad of heavily-armed soldiers, dropped into a map with the goal of hunting down another player, who gets to don the gauntlet and weird slimy jaws of the galaxy's greatest hunter. And if dodging the deadly red dots isn't difficult enough, the fireteam must also keep one eye for invading mercenaries and militants, eager to wipe everybody off the map.  |
| Posted: 30 Apr 2021 06:30 AM PDT So this is new! Imagine for a second that you jump into a ranked game of Apex Legends, and you're having a bit of fun. Suddenly, your teammate urges you into a specific area. "OK, I'll follow their lead, if we split I'll probably get teamshot" you say to yourself. Yep, sound decision. Then you're teamshot anyway as your "teammate" sits idly by. Then he respawns you, and the same enemy squad takes you out again. And again. Uh, Groundhog Day anyone? There's no kooky Bill Murray character here, it's one of the latest tactics from ranked players to farm kills. How it works is two squads are in cahoots, farming kills at the expense of someone else. It's important to note that if that person who gets punked leaves, they'll incur a penalty for doing so. So it's a lose-lose. The process was shared on Reddit by user MohSSEEZZ, who chronicled it via video. As soon as they shared their story, more shared theirs in solidarity. As Eurogamer points out, this has been happening on a lower key stage than the recent Reddit blowup post for a little while now. The aim for some is merely boosting accounts for rewards, but some players are also selling those very same accounts for straight cash. Obviously this is against the TOS, and will need to be addressed at some point. If you play, keep an eye out for it and trust no one! Got teamed on [Reddit via Eurogamer]  |
| Judgment Twitter teases possible sequel footage ahead of 'Judgment Day' reveal Posted: 30 Apr 2021 06:00 AM PDT The official Twitter account for Sega's hard-brawlin' detective franchise Judgment has been posting a selection of short gameplay clips, ahead of its mysterious "Judgment Day" announcement. While most of the video is taken from the original 2018 RPG, some of the clips feature unrecognizable locations, enemies, and cinematic setups, which would suggest that they have been captured from a possible sequel or spin-off. This all but officially confirms that there is a new Judgment title in the works, likely to be revealed on Sega's "Judgment Day," May 7. All we can ascertain about the new title from these short clips is that it will once again star gritty, double-fisted investigator Takayuki Yagami, and will feature the bone-crunching action that won over so many fans in the original. Team Yakuza is, of course, renowned for producing multiple sequels that follow extremely similar gameplay designs as their predecessors. As such it would stand to reason that a "Judgment II" would essentially be more of the same, but with a fresh story and a few tweaked features and mechanics. We'll see soon enough. Judgment, previously available exclusively on PS4, launched this week PS5, Xbox Series X, and Stadia.  |
| Remember Final Fantasy VII The First Soldier? It has an official Discord now to foster meetups Posted: 30 Apr 2021 05:30 AM PDT It was only a few months ago that Square Enix announced multiple Final Fantasy VII projects like it was the 2000s again, but the VII universe is here to stay. Part of that multifaceted plan includes The First Soldier, a free-to-play-with-microtransactions mobile battle royale. It's something I'm sure no one asked for, but I'm interested in seeing how it goes all the same. I mean, for free, I'll try it! The game is gearing up for release at some point this year, and for now to hype it up, Square Enix created an official Discord server for the game. In the past year or so it's become more and more prevalent for publishers to control the message and use their influence to create their own curated communities; rather than let unofficial ones run wild. You can find the direct link to join the server right here. As of the time of publication it has over 1500 members, with channels to view game news in both English and Japanese. The ability to chat with other players is "coming soon." Speaking of soon, there's a livestream arriving on May 7 at 20:00 JST. We embedded the direct link below! Final Fantasy VII The First Soldier [Twitter]  |
| Gina Gershon joins Borderlands movie as showgirl Mad Moxxi Posted: 30 Apr 2021 05:00 AM PDT Lionsgate continues to round-up stars for the cast of its wild-sounding cinematic adaptation of Gearbox shooter Borderlands. The latest industry veteran to join the all-star cast is the wonderful Gina Gershon, who will be taking the coveted role of Mad Moxxi. Moxxi, as Borderlands fans will be aware, is the highly charismatic and sexually charged hostess of The Underdome, where she presides over explosive and chaotic deathmatches with a flamboyant P.T. Barnum spirit. Despite her wild attire and entertaining hostess nature, Mad Moxxi is a powerful and feared figure in Pandora, as unpredictable and dangerous as she is charming and captivating. It's a snug role for Gershon, who has spent much of her career playing sexy femme-fatale types in movies such as Red Heat, Bound, and Face/Off. Gershon has more than proved her penchant for glam idol roles in her appearances in Ugly Betty, House of Versace, and Paul Verhoeven's camp classic Showgirls. On a personal note, Gershon is also one of my favorite actors, so you'll forgive your boy a hint of bias when I say I'm really excited for this casting choice. Gershon joins an increasingly packed cast of established stars including Cate Blanchett (Lillith), Jamie Lee Curtis (Dr. Tannis), Kevin Hart (Roland), Ariana Greenblatt (Tiny Tina), Edgar Ramirez (Atlas) Janina Gavankar (Commander Knox), and Jack Black (Claptrap) — with gorehound Eli Roth on directorial duties. Shooting is yet to begin, and it will likely be some time before we get to see this particularly curious take on Pandora, but I'm admittedly fascinated to see how the project turns out when it finally blows up on the big screen.  |
| Posted: 30 Apr 2021 04:30 AM PDT That Guardian in the header staring into the sky kind of sums up how I've felt about the Destiny series' various implementations of MMO-like features pretty much since it started. In case you missed it, Bungie finally explained what transmog (appearance changing) will actually require of players in Destiny 2 and it was worse than we could have imagined. To change your gear's look you need to chase multiple new items, complete pseudo-bounty busywork, and go through even more effort to alter a limited amount of gear per season. Instead of the studio heads addressing the issue, that falls to community manager Cozmo23 (who frequently cleans up top brass messes with finesse) , who stated on Reddit: "We are definitely monitoring feedback around Armor Synthesis and sharing it widely within the studio, but I didn't think that mentioning the issue without any new information would be constructive here. Happy to hear thoughts on this for the future though." In some ways, it makes sense not to react this quickly. But on the other hand: how did this system possibly even get greenlit? Not only has Bungie made a decades-old system needlessly complicated, but they also tied it directly into FOMO and monetization. It's actually a step up from their usual routine of implementing something backwards. In other news though, heavy weapons, one of the few weapon types that are being altered next season, are getting some changes. Linear Fusion Rifles are getting buffed in PVE and nerfed in PVP, and in Season 14, shotguns are going to be tweaked with "specifics coming later." Also, the Vault of Glass (yes, the original raid from the first game) is coming next season, and will hit on May 22 at 10AM PT. You can find all the "World First" info here if that's a thing you want to try and do! So there are things going on in Destiny 2, but the top-level systems need a lot of work, and may follow the Bungie Cycle yet again (mess up, wait until after it comes out, apologize late, and say you won't do it again, repeat). This Week at Bungie [Bungie.net]  |
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